Although Gilligan’s Planet was utter garbage, Gilligan’s Island was a consistently funny and surreal program that was famously cancelled not because of low ratings but because the head of CBS demanded that his favorite show, the devoid of ratings Gunsmoke, stay on the air. Unlike the modern equivalent of the sitcom, Gilligan’s Island was actually funny. The modern day formula goes something like this: Start with a classic comedy like Gilligan’s Island. strip away all jokes and good writing — what you have left is Friends.